


Space Dad of the Year

by sonofthestars



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Short Drabbles, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Trans Pidge, all 18+, anxious keith, general comforting, idek how to tag this???, meant to be platonic but u can read ships into them idc, no age discorse or ship discorse just shiro being space dad of the year, platonic, team bonding!!, there is a smidge of nudity in one scene but its not sexual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-07-28 16:05:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7647613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonofthestars/pseuds/sonofthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If there is one thing stable in the paladins' lives it would be Shiro's support. AKA Shiro comforts the other paladins when they are sad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pidge

**Author's Note:**

> Look man I don't know or care to know about all the fighting in the Voltron fandom. I don't care how you choose to interpret these dang space furries, but just keep in mind that I'm not writing this to be a ship fic. The only thing I care about is nonbinary Pidge and I will fight people to the death over this. (ง'̀-'́)ง  
> Anywho hope u enjoy it pals.  
> -Stardust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note:   
> So the nudity thing I mentioned? This is the chapter it's in, but please keep in mind it's NOT SEXUAL at all!! And since Dreamworks told me they are all in their late teens, that's what I'm sticking with. Everyone is 18+ so please no discourse I have had enough.   
> These are five people who are now bound together for presumably a long time and have to trust each other 100% to function. I think at some point they would all just be really chill about nudity because whatever it's not that big of a deal. Plus like ??? No way in hell is Shiro going to let Pidge sleep in their binder that is a no-no.   
> Alright I'm done with my rant, sorry. Hope you enjoy!  
> -Stardust

Shiro found Pidge, ever the workacholic, slumped over their laptop half-asleep. He sighed and placed his hand gentle on the small paladin's shoulder. 

"Wha-?" Pidge jerked awake and looked around the room blearily. "Shiro?"

"Pidge," Shiro grinned and wiped some dried drool off of Pidge's cheek. "Why are you still awake?"

"I'm working on some upgrades for our lions."

"You need to go to bed, Pidge." Shiro said sternly. 

"I'm almost done and then I'll go to bed. Besides, our lions need this, our team need this!" Pidge protested. 

"And you need sleep. You can't be much help to the team if you start passing out from exhaustion." 

Shiro crossed his arms and stared at firmly Pidge, who glared back with a sleepy expression. When Pidge finally threw their hands up and groaned in defeat, Shiro offered his hand to help the green paladin stand up and smiled triumphantly. Pidge shut down their laptop (but not before clicking "save" on all of their work multiple times) and took Shiro's hand. The two walked down the long hallways, Pidge swaying as they walked and bumping into Shiro's shoulder. Shiro decided this wouldn't do and grabbed a too-tired-to-protest Pidge and carried them down the hall much like a mother would carry their child. 

Had Pidge been more awake, there might have been protests, but instead they just wrapped their arms around Shiro's neck and laid their head on his shoulders. It wasn't much longer before Shiro heard small snores and felt the weight of the sleeping paladin. Shiro felt his heart swell for his sleeping teammate and he was glad that he was able to help them. Pidge really didn't get enough sleep, always pushing themself to the point of getting hurt. He knew that Pidge didn't ask for any of this, and that they didn't ask to be put in such an important position when all they wanted was to find their family. 

Even despite this, Pidge still worked so hard for the team, helping to make things run smoothly and efficiently. From building stronger protections on their lions to even building Lance what he calls a "Space TV", Pidge worked for days on end without a break. Shiro was surprised that he was even able to get Pidge to move from their laptop, let alone to get Pidge to go to their room to sleep. 

Upon arriving to Pidge's room, he had to shift the sleeping paladin onto his hip to use a free hand to type in the room code. Once in, he gently woke Pidge up and stood them on their bed to help them take off their shoes and undress. Pidge was instructed to take a few deep breaths and cough after Shiro took off their binder and when he was satisfied that Pidge's lungs were okay, he grabbed a shirt from a pile on the floor and helped Pidge into it. 

After tucking them into bed, Shiro pushed back Pidge's bangs and pressed a quick kiss to their forehead. He chucked when they mumbled a sleepy. "Thanks, Shiro," and promptly began snoring. 

Shiro made his way out of the room, pausing at the door and glancing around the smallest paladin's room. He looked at all the crystals and plants from various planets that hung around the room. Piles of clothes and books littered the floor and, after being inspired by Keith, the walls were covered in blueprints and notes. If the snoring, dandelion-haired paladin wasn't sleeping in the room, it still would've been very clear to anyone who walked in that this was the room Pidge had chosen. Shiro felt an almost fatherly pride, and smiled at Pidge before he left for his own room.

"Sleep well."


	2. Lance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #LETKEITHCUSS2K16

Keith stormed into the main room, clearly frustrated, and banged the side of his hand on the wall. “What the fuck?”

“Keith, calm down, we-“ Shiro started, but was interrupted by Keith. 

“We can’t form Voltron because he won’t come out of his room and train with us! It’s been a week and Lance still won’t come out of his room.”

“Keith’s right, Shiro,” Hunk chimed in, pushing his index fingers together nervously. “He won’t even talk to me and I’m, like, his best friend. Can’t you try to do something since you’re, y’know, the leader?”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “He needs his space. He’ll come out when he trusts us enough to talk about what’s wrong.”

Pidge coughed and pushed their glasses up pointedly, tilting their head and speaking levelly. “The code to his room is ‘Lancey pants’.” 

“Pidge I don’t know if it’s a good idea to go into his room,” Shiro replied exasperated. 

“Fucking hell, Shiro, just go talk to him for us!” Keith was obviously trying to hold back the anger in his voice. 

“Language, Keith,” Shiro reprimanded. “I guess you guys are right. I’ll go talk to him.”

As he left the room he heard Hunk’s sigh of relief and Keith’s quiet ranting. Shiro knew he was supposed to lead the team, but when had he been assigned to being their father? 

"Lance?" Shiro called, knocking on the door to Lance's bedroom. "Lance you need to come out of your room.

After a moment's pause with no answer, he called again. "Well if you won't come out then I'm coming in."

Shiro punched in Lance's code to the bedroom and walked into nearly pitch black darkness. After his eyes adjusted, he scanned to room to find Lance curled on his bed in a nest of blankets and pillows. He made his way across the surprisingly clean space and sat at the foot of the bed, legs crossed and facing Lance. The two remained silent for a long time, Lance with blankets pulled over his head to hide his face and Shiro curiously looking around. 

"I miss my family," Lance said softly. "I just... I know this important, but… I just want to go home." 

"Is that why you've been holed up in your room for days?" When Lance didn't reply, Shiro sighed and reached out to pull Lance into him. 

Lance froze for a moment before melting into Shiro's hug. It felt safe to be in the embrace, almost like being home, and his eye watered. 

“It’s okay to be homesick, Lance. I know you didn’t ask for this. None of us asked for this, Lance, but you can’t hide away like this. We’re a team and we need you to be here.”

“You don’t understand, Shiro,” Lance cried. “I just left them! I never got to say goodbye, they don’t even know if I’m alive or not!” 

“Hunk and Pidge had families, too, Lance. You have to be strong. You have to keep fighting and keep going so we can win and you can protect the galaxy and go home.” 

Shiro held onto Lance with his hand running through the blue paladin’s hair, letting him cry. Shiro didn’t mind, he would be here for as long as Lance needed him to be.


	3. Hunk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hunk is too good for all of us and I feel bad because I have no clue how to write him. What a cinnamon roll. Sorry this chapter is so short, but I hope you like it anyways!  
> -Stardust

Hunk had baked over three hundred cookies. Or at least, they looked to Shiro like they could be cookies, but Hunk had a way to make even the most disgusting goo look like real food. The hallways smelled heavenly and everyone had gathered in the kitchen to find out what Hunk was cooking. Pidge and Keith sat side-by-side on the counters laughing to themselves as Coran and Lance argued over which of the cookies tasted the best. Allura smiled at Shiro and laughed when Pidge made one of their infamous snarky comment. 

Everyone was enjoying their rare break except Hunk, who seemed oddly absent. Shiro felt like there was more to it than Hunk just trying to focus on baking, the man could multitask like no other. Not one to pry into other people’s issues (not in public, anyway), Shiro continued chatting with the rest of team Voltron. Before long, the lights in the castle had dimmed and everyone headed off to their rooms full and drowsy. This left Shiro and Hunk alone together to clean up the mess and freeze the leftovers. 

“Everything alright, Hunk?” Shiro asked warmly.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’ve just been thinking about everything.”

“I understand what you mean. Is it something I can help with?”

“Well, I don’t know how much you can do,”

“I can listen, if you’d like.”

“Well I just feel like this would be less difficult if there was something familiar, but everything’s so… alien. Nothing is the same as it is back home, not even the food. It’s just weird.”  
Shiro continued scrubbing dishes and thought for a moment. “Dishes are a pretty human thing, I think. Why did you make so much food?”

“I cook a lot when I’m upset and... I guess it reminded me of home,” Hunk shrugged and set aside a clean plate. “There’s not really anything else I can do, it’s not like we have TV or anything here. I’ve looked all over and I can’t find anything to read, I don’t know what I’d do for a good book.”

“Well at least you can cook, anything I try to make somehow ends up burnt no matter what I try to do,” Shiro gave a small smile in Hunk’s direction, who raised an eyebrow in disapproval. “I don’t even know how to make grilled cheese.”

“Dude. That’s, like, the basics of cooking. What did you eat back on Earth?” 

“Whatever the Garrison gave me.” 

A pause. “It’s still hard to believe that you went to the same school as me. Do you think we would’ve ever met if all this alien junk didn’t go down?”

“Maybe. I spent a lot of my free time in the library writing.” Shiro ran out of plates to wash and propped himself against the counters. 

Hunk mimicked his actions across from him and looked at Shiro in surprise. “You write?”

“Mostly short stories. Before I enrolled into the Garrison I wanted to study philosophy. After I was accepted it just became something to do in my free time.”

“You’re kidding! Dude, that’s awesome!” Hunk gave a large smile. “Do you think you would ever let me read some of your writing sometime?”

“That depends, do you think you could teach me to cook?”

Hunk extended his hand towards Shiro, who shook it. “It’s a deal.”


	4. Keith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAA I'm sorry this is so late I've been on vacation and I'm moving soon so I've been super busy!!!  
> Here's the last chapter! I hope you liked this silly story, it's been fun to write and I'm thankful for all the support!  
> -Stardust

Keith Kogane never liked large buildings. Something about them set him on edge, making him feel small. He had been more than content with his little house in the desert and despite finding a new comfort in his fellow paladins, the castle and it's large expanse still did not feel like home to him. He mostly did not have time to think of this emptiness with all the training and battles the team was constantly partaking in, but as he walked the dark halls he felt the unease creeping back to him. Keith uttered a few quick curses as he found himself quickly lost.

After walking for what he believed to be another ten minutes or so his frustration began bubbled inside of him until his eyes glossed over with tears. After hitting the wall and letting out a strangled noise, he slide down to curl up in small ball on the floor. The large, empty hallway seemed to mock him as the tears began to stream down his face quietly. He missed him small home where he was comfortably aware of his position at all times. There was nowhere anyone could sneak up on him, no where that he could be left alone in.

"Keith? What are you doing on the floor?"

The question startled him and he shot up, sword drawn, and muttered a near unintelligible "Who are you?"

"I'm... I don't think I heard you," Shiro scratched the back of his tilted head in confusion.

Keith stared in equal confusion until he could place the speaker's identity. He dropped his sword as if it burned him and took a step back, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Shiro, shit, I'm so sorry, I didn't think- I didn't know you were here," Breathing so severe became a difficulty that only occurred when Keith was having an anxiety attack.

The more he tried to speak, the more panicked he became, until Shiro placed his hand firmly onto Keith's shoulder. The words stopped falling from Keith's mouth and instead stuck in his throat uncomfortably. He tried to cough the feeling away, but was only met with increasing panic and shame from having Shiro see him in such a vulnerable state. Shiro hushed Keith and instructed him to take a few deep breaths.

After Keith complied, Shiro grinned and spoke to him softly. "I want you to describe five things you can see, okay? Just like we've done before"

Keith swallowed and nodded, glancing around the room. "I see... I see something glowing, a light. I see that the light makes shadows on the floor. I can see something with four legs and a flat top, a table, and I can see that on the top of it there is an object made of paper with words, a book. I can see... I can see you."

Shiro nodded and encouraged him to continue. "What are four things you can hear?"

"I can hear you when you talk. I can hear the air vents blowing air and I can hear the mice moving around in the vents, too. I can hear myself talking and breathing."

"Good! You're doing great, now I need you to tell me three things you can feel. Describe them to me."

"I feel your hand on my shoulder. It's... heavy. And warm. And I can feel my hair on my neck, I had to tie it up during training," He paused and to reach out to touch Shiro's face and smiled. "You feel a little scratchy. When was the last time you shaved?"

Shiro snorted in amusement. "You feeling better? We can keep going if you need to."

"No... I think I'm okay now. Hey Shiro?"

"Yes?"

"Can you take me to my room? I kind of got a bit lost..."

Laughing, Shiro threw his arm over Keith's shoulders and lead him down the hall. "Of course."


End file.
